June retreats: God calls us to Love!

Dear friends,


In preparation of our upcoming retreats, I would love to remind you that one of the main themes of the two weekends (New York, June 4-6), and (New Orleans, June 18-20) will be sharing and discussing the loving messages of Our Mother Mary that She gave the world in Kibeho, messages that were meant to help us live in peace with each other and with God, and to help us avoid what was coming to hurt us…the genocide.   I have shared many times how Our Lady openly showed the visionaries the images of the genocide and clearly told them what to do to avoid it, but obviously Rwanda and Rwandans didn’t listen, but it is not too late for the rest of the world as she stated, “If I am talking to you, I am addressing myself to the whole world”.

For those who have the book, Our Lady of Kibeho, I encourage to reread it, or reread those lines you highlighted.  I have another book that contained the messages of Kibeho, If Only We Had Listened: Heaven Warned Rwanda Long Before The Genocide.   One reviewer said of this book; “Finally a book my husband can read and enjoy.”  Another said, “My favorite book of the year!  Every person on the planet should read it.”  Although it makes me feel good to hear those beautiful comments, my goal is rather, to spread the messages of Our Lady as she wishes.  My goal is to see all of us smiling at one another and truly caring and loving one another as Our Lord wants us to.  I am hoping to be the messenger God wants all of us to be.  I encourage you to read those messages before we meet at the retreats.  For those who don’t have the books or CD’s, I would love to offer you a 50% off discount on all the books and CDs (including the CD’s on the songs/messages of Kibeho on my website).  You can find them at www.immaculee.com for this period until the last date of the retreat June 20^th.

In one message Our Lady said "You are being sent on a mission of love...when you meet an orphan, treat him as your own child, and give comfort to the troubled and care to the sick. Never refuse any who asks for help, if your pockets are empty, give them hope, your every action must be born of kindness and every word spoken with love. Live as God would have you live, and by your example, others will be inspired to do the same…”

I look forward to the next few weeks when I get to see you all.

Love and blessings of Our Lord,

Immaculee

To register for the retreat go to: www.immaculee.com

Or call 719-821-2854 or 239-628-7279 or 985-710-9595 or 507-360-0223,

Call any number to speak to a live person about questions you may have about registering.

Valentine's May 15, 2010 Apparition in Belgium

Dear friends,

As I promised, I wanted to give you a taste of what happened during our trip to Belgium, especially at the apparition of Valentine.  It was beautiful beyond words. I went with a group of 16 people, from USA, Canada, Netherlands and England.  The apparition happened right after mass that was celebrated by a Bishop and 5 priests. Our group was sitting right near the altar, where the apparition took place. There were people from all over the world that spoke different languages, the church was packed and people were standing, maybe about 2000 people.   Since the apparition happened in Kinyarwanda, there were people interpreting from Kinyarwanda to English (me), to French and Spanish, etc.   After the mass, Valentine who participated in a singing chorale during the mass went out to change clothes and came and knelt down in the center and started to pray.  A little bit after noon, she raised her head towards heaven and greeted Our Lady with a song "Turakumutsa Mubyeyi w'Imana... We greet you Mother of God, Virgin Mary pray for us...”

     The way the apparition happens, it is a conversation between two people where you can only see and hear one person, it lasted about 4 hours, but the main things I want to share with you is a miracle that happened in front our eyes, and the main message of Our Lady.  During the apparition, Our Lady told Valentine that She is always with Her Son; that they never separate.  She then reminded her that blessed are those who believe without seeing miracles.  But right after, Our Lord gave Valentine His flesh and we saw it in the form of a white Eucharist, not the usual circle shape, but a little bit spread on her tongue. Valentine saw flesh, not Eucharist.  She showed the public her tongue 3 times at the order of Our Lord, whom she only heard but didn't see.  Everyone who was present clapped hands and made noise of joy.       

     Though apparitions seem to be so obviously supernatural, they have a side of simplicity, for those who are present; it is not always easy to believe that the visionary is seeing somebody truly.  It’s easy to have the impression that they are making up these conversations, so when a miracle like that happens, it is a sign of love and mercy for those who are struggling with knowing if truly she is seeing somebody.   One time, the other visionary, Alphonsine, after an exhausting interview said to her interviewer "How do you want me to deny seeing somebody I see as I see you now?"   Most importantly, one thing I want to share is the main message Our Lady gave us and I invite those who were there to add to what I am sharing, but one thing She told Valentine was that She wanted all of her children in the world to do, without discrimination are things you can count on your fingers, and at this moment, Valentine started to count on fingers repeating what Our Lady was telling her:

1) She wants us to love one another.

2) She wants us to forgive one another.

3) She wants us to be patient in our lives and be patient   

    toward one another.

4) She wants us to be humble.

5) She wants us to build one another up, not to judge, & say  

    good things about each other. 

6) She wants to counsel each other, in other words, look after

    one another.

     Our Lady extended her blessings to all those who wanted to come but couldn’t make it, and to all her children in the world, she reminded us to see each human being as an image of God and treat them so, without discrimination. She reminded us that She loves each one of us so…so dearly, she repeated many…many times "My dear, dear children..."

      I hope to share with you more during the upcoming retreats, and when I receive the whole message and translation, I will share it all with you.   I would like to thank those who came with me, we had a great time, but it was because of each one of you that this trip was special, I will remember you forever and please continue to shine and spread the light of God around you. 

Your sister,

 Immaculee 

A Weekend with Immaculee: New York & New Orleans!!!

Dear friends,

I am writing to invite you to to the retreats I am holding this year: 

June 4-6 in New York

June 18-20 in New Orleans.  

 In the past, I have wished to spend time with you and truly share the joy of our faith, as well as the lessons I have learned about life during my experience in the genocide, namely:  forgiveness, trust in God, overcoming life challenges, and learning to smile and love anyway.   During past retreats, we have experienced a fire of love and transformation of hearts, one of the attendees said “A big wave have just started in this room!”   I want this fire to keep burning and the wave to keep rolling!  Please come and be with me, as we reflect on what why we are here!

I am also happy to share with you so much more of the story and messages of Our Lady of Kibeho, your mother and mine.  Words will never be enough to relate the love I felt Our Lady has for each one of us; individually and collectively.   A long time ago, a French priest commented on Our Lady of Kibeho’s apparition and said “If later, these apparitions would be approved, they will be the most loving and warm visits of Our Lady in the history of the world.” In these apparitions, Our Lady taught the visionaries songs, and She danced with them.  She shared with them the songs she loved and asked onlookers to sing and perform them for Her.   Most importantly, She spoke like a Mother, gave advice on how to live this life, and taught us how to pray and talk to God Our Father!  It is really, with great passion that I share the messages of Kibeho with you, and that I invite you to come and dance with me and sing the songs of Our Lady, and help you discover that you have a Mother who cares about you!  

I have invited a special guest from Rwanda who will help to make these retreats even more fruitful. I invite you and promise you to leave with a change of heart, or at least with a smile.

Register on www.immaculee.com or call 1-719-821-2854.

Love,

Immaculee

Please check out:  My Retreat on Billboards all over Louisiana!!!  

Special thanks to LAMAR Advertising for this blessing!

Join me to Witness a Live Apparition of Our Lady in Belgium

Dear Friends,

I hope you all had a great Easter!  I meant to invite you sooner to a trip I am making to Brussels, Belgium next month.  The journey will put us at an actual apparition of visionary, Valentine Nyiramukiza on May 15, 2010.   Some of you may already be familiar with Valentine; she is the visionary who, for the past 28 years, still continues to have a public apparition once a year of the Virgin Mary.   It occurs exactly as it used to occur in Kibeho, starting around noon and lasting about 4 hours.  The conversation of Our Lady and Valentine is mostly messages for those who are there and for the whole world.  As you might imagine, having the opportunity to witness this is a life changing experience as you may have read in my book Our Lady of Kibeho. 

It happens like this:  Our Lady, The Virgin Mary tells Valentine the day She will come back, and then she waits for Her in prayer.  Thousands of people come every year to be at the apparition attending mass and confessions, and then when Our Lady comes, Valentine falls on her knees and starts talking to the Blessed Mother.   In that moment she is completely taken away from us; she can’t feel anything earthly or hear us at all.   Those who are present can follow the conversation like you would follow somebody on the phone, you can hear Valentine and what she tells Our Lady, but you can’t hear what Mary is saying to her until it's over, and then she will fill us all in.  Most of the time as you watch, you are able to imagine what Our Lady is saying to her because of the certain way she responds.  The apparition occurs in my native language, Kinyarwanda, even though Valentine lives in Belgium right now where they speak French.   I will be translating the words into English for those of you traveling with me as it is happening.

I am so excited to be taking a small group of a few fortunate people to experience this joyous occasion.   We will be leaving on May 13th, and returning on May 18th.  All accommodations have been arranged as well as transportation; we will use this opportunity to visit other shrines of Our Lady in Belgium, Banneux and Beauraing, all of which you can look up on the Internet.   If you are interested in joining me on this journey to witness history, please send us an email on Immaculee2kibeho@gmail.com, or call 507-360-0223.  Space is very limited, so please call soon is you want to participate.   Please don’t worry if you can’t make it, when we get back, we promise to fill you in on how the apparition went and all that transpired.

It is my joy to also let you know that the songs Our Lady taught to Valentine, as well as Mary's favorite native songs She used to ask the visionaries to sing, have been compiled together on a CD featuring my voice as the translator.  It is currently available on my website at www.immaculee.com.

May Our Lady wrap you in Her loving Mantle.

Immaculee  

   

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/belgium/banneaux-marian-shrine.htm

http://www.theotokos.org.uk/pages/approved/appariti/beaurain.html

Dear Friends,

A short message to remind you that you are in my prayers during this coming Holy Week.  Lent is in a way, the closest time of the year to my heart,  because I am reminded how everyone of us matters to God, especially those who might be going through pain of any kind matter even more!   It is a reminder that we remember that we are truly brothers and sisters, those who know Him and those who don't know Him, for God to send His only Son to come and die for us.   I always wonder "Who can love me this much to a point of wanting to die for me?", and my heart swells of joy!   What Jesus went through during his approaching death, all of His life actually, was something that sustained me so much during my time of great suffering hiding during the genocide. 

You see, we all experience hurt from all kinds of injustices, and when we are not well loved, we end up believing the bad things people say about us, and the greatest temptation is to loose HOPE.  Even if you were the worse sinner, He still loves you, and He will still forgive you; there is never a good reason to loose hope, to give up .  If you are tempted not to like yourself, if you are tempted to feel like you are nothing, or you don't matter, or you feel you are bad, remember, Our Lord dying like a criminal didn't mean that He was bad, nothing was reduced of Him.  He still was and is God, despite of all they said about Him, and His condemnation to death was for our good.  Truth and love lives forever, they survive everything, even death.  

     I encourage you to lean on Him, especially during this Holy Week, lean on His Mother Mary, as He was comforted by Her presence beneath the cross; know that She is there for you as well.  During this coming week, I challenge you to think of the One who loved YOU more than anybody, who cared more than anybody, who is Almighty, who is capable to breathe strength into your bones when you feel overwhelmed and tired;  He watches over you.  Take time to think of Him, to talk to Him, to ask Him things you don't understand, to ask Him for help for you to forgive if you feel angry, and to remind Him that you appreciate His sacrifice and His love. If you have a hard time believing all this, at least ask Him "Who are You?  And how can I serve You?"   Remember, He cares that much and will give you an answer.

Have a Blessed Holy Week!

Love, Immaculee

Dear friends,

Yezu Akuzwe! (Praise be to Jesus) in the Rwandan greetings!  I am writing to invite you to to the retreats I am holding this year: June 4-6 in New York, and June 18-20 in New Orleans.  In the past, I have wished to spend time with you and truly share the joy of our faith, as well as lessons I have learned about life during my experience in the genocide. I am talking especially about the freedom to forgive, the power of prayer, the meaning of trusting in God, and enduring suffering with hope.   It has been a great surprise to me, in my previous retreats, how much joy and transformation of heart we all felt!  I want this fire to keep burning!  Come and be with me, as we reflect on our purpose on this earth!

I am also happy to share with you so much more of the story and messages of Our Lady of Kibeho.   Words will never be enough to relate Our Lady’s love for each one of us; individually, with God’s grace, we do feel it.  A French priest from Rwanda, long before the genocide, wrote about the nature of the apparitions, “If later, these apparitions would be approved, they will be the most loving and warm visits of Our Lady in the history of the world.”  Unlike many places, in Kibeho, the visionaries spent about 4 to 8 hours conversing with the Mother of God; I used to be one among thousands who were present, listening.  Our Lady taught the visionaries songs and danced with them.  She told them the songs she loved and sometimes even made requests!   It is really, with great passion that I share the messages of Kibeho, and that I invite you to come and dance with me and sing the songs of Our Lady, and help you discover that you have a Mother who cares about you!  But most importantly, through Her words, Her songs, Our Lord becomes ALIVE, and our Father God becomes NEARER.  It is my hope that we all will leave with a piece of that JOY.

I have invited a special guest from Kibeho that you will know later, and another special guest that I couldn’t keep a secret because I want many of you to get ready for him!  Fr. Ubald is a Rwandan priest with a rare gift of Healing and Knowledge; he prays and then he knows who is healed.  Thousands have been healed over the 25 years he has been living this ministry, especially in Africa and in Europe, and recently in the USA.  One of the thousands of testimonies, the most recent that touched my heart, happened here in the USA.   After a mass and a healing service, he called up someone who was praying for his wife who was experiencing serious kidney problems.  Fr. Ubald described that person, but the man decided to remain silent in case there is somebody else who might have been praying for the same thing, and remained silent.  His heart, beating in his chest, he sought him out the next day. He came back to look for Fr. Ubald in tears confessing that it was him, that when he got back to the hospital, the doctors said that his wife’s case has stabilized suddenly, and she was walking around.  I invite you to come with the sick or prayers for the sick, only God heals and decides who heals, but one healing can bring thousands back to God, it is the ultimate goal, to reach heaven and to know His presence among us.    

I look forward to seeing you there.

Find out how to register on www.immaculee.com or  Call 1 719 821 2854,

 Love Immaculee

Prayer to St. Francis for Lent

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope; 

where there is darkness, light; 

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; 

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love. 

For it is in giving that we receive; 

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; 

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. 

Amen

     After the genocide, I suffered terribly from missing the presence of my parents, my brothers, and my grandparents;  I never knew that the quality of their unconditional love would not exist elsewhere.  Losing it, not from one of them, but all of them at the same time, left a huge emptiness in my heart, only long prayers and conversations with God could convince me that I was taken care of.  Once, someone who heard my story told me words that surely came from God and comforted me a lot.  He said, “You don’t seem broken as many survivors, but what you are missing is the affection of your loved ones, which can be as hurtful as anything else…” and then he said “However, in God’s infinite wisdom, what you are lacking you can still get. They're are two ways, you can get it: by giving it, especially to those who need it most, the orphans, the sick, the homeless... or from people who can love you genuinely…”  He also said something that was very meaningful “However, you can’t order people to love you unconditionally, you might be lucky to have those kind of people come into your life, but you don’t have to wait, the most sure way is the first one, to give that affection to those in need. That you can control!”  

      From then, I started to go to visit the children of the Mother Theresa orphanage, and I played with them, danced and sung with them. The wise man was right, my heart was full of joy and love. What amazed me is that he told me to give it to those who need it most if I truly want to experience unconditional love back!  My friends laugh at me when I tell them that God is very smart and truly very kind; you see, He told us to love one another as the greatest commandment; He knew how important this was, and how much we would need to love one another to be able to live this life; this was for our sakes, and so is everything He tells us in the bible, I mean everything!  He is like a parent who tells you to eat vegetables when all you want is cookies for dinner! As a child we don’t know, we just want to get what we like, not necessarily always, what is good for us; hurry to find out what He truly wants and let us try to do it without questioning Him or taking it lightly. 

     This prayer of St. Francis, is like a quick summation of the messages of the bible for me, it doesn’t get old, I can meditate on each word I've heard many times, yet I still find something that inspires me to live better.  When I found myself in a hard situation like that after the war, and I was missing my family or a friend to console me and to understand me, I reminded my heart of those words, “That I might not seek so much to be consoled as to console…”.   Though it was at times, a bitter-sweet place to be,  in the end if I only tried to redirect my heart towards consoling others and not expecting anything in return, it was then I was always the happiest. 

     St. Francis was right “It is in giving that we receive…”.  During this lent, I challenge myself and all of you, my friends, to try to encourage others daily, those around us, to use uplifting, loving, kind words when you are tempted not to.   Care for other people’s feelings of course without compromising the truth; sometimes silence is gold.  In your daily lives, give hope when there seems to be no hope, smile to the one who is sad, don’t hurry to judge, be grateful for the kindness you took for granted around you. I challenge you to think or write down a few things each day that you are grateful about, that you thank God for; it can be a gentle smile you received from a stranger when you needed it or someone who opened a door for you; you will quickly see how much God loves you, and you will want to give back that love!

Have a fruitful lent,

Immaculee